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The White House is considering selecting Erica Schwartz, who served as deputy U.S. surgeon general during President Donald Trump’s first term, as the new leader of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to three people who spoke on the condition of anonymity to talk about the planned selection. The potential pick of Schwartz would be the latest attempt to fill a post that has sat largely vacant during Trump’s second term amid political tensions over vaccines and the agency’s role. She left government in January 2021 after the incoming Biden administration told her that she would not be selected to serve as acting U.S. surgeon general. (Diamond and Sun, 4/14)

More vaccine news —

As of July 1, a new law will allow the state of Maryland to determine what vaccines can be administered to individuals at least seven years of age, while also reducing certain out-of-pocket costs for families. Gov. Wes Moore on Tuesday signed the “Vax Act,” officially decoupling the state’s vaccine policy from shifting federal guidelines. (Chingarande, 4/14)

Vaccine skepticism among Americans is widespread, The POLITICO Poll found, indicating that one of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s animating priorities is gaining traction. Results from the March poll of 3,851 U.S. adults conducted by Public First show that a plurality of Americans question the safety of vaccines, support reducing the number administered and believe that people’s right to decide what they put in their bodies is more important than preventing the spread of disease. (Gardner, 4/14)

Twenty years after the approval of the first vaccines against human papillomavirus (HPV), studies continue to find new benefits. Although HPV vaccines are best known for preventing cervical cancer in women, a large new study shows that the shots are also associated with a dramatic drop in the risk of HPV-related cancers in men and boys, too. (Szabo, 4/14)

On measles, Valley fever, and drug-resistant shigella —

A measles outbreak in the Sacramento region, the third and largest in California so far this year, has brought the state’s year-to-date measles cases to 39 — far surpassing yearly totals for the last several years. The ongoing outbreak in Sacramento and Placer counties, which began in late February and has grown to 17 cases — including four new cases over the past week — will likely continue another 21 days, the incubation period for measles, state health officials said Tuesday. (Ho, 4/14)

A sustained drop in childhood vaccinations could cost the US about $7.8 billion in measles outbreaks over five years, a new study found. The warning comes as vaccine policy and public confidence face fresh pressure under the second Trump administration. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has moved to reshape a key federal vaccine advisory panel, raising concerns among public health experts, while the US is already seeing more than 1,700 measles cases this year. (Gale, 4/15)

Coccidioidomycosis, or Valley fever, is increasingly prevalent in California, but cases in children are not as well described as those in adults. Two recent studies describe the clinical features of the disease in pediatric patients and the clinical picture of treatment. (Soucheray, 4/14)

Cases of extensively drug-resistant shigella infections rose from 0% in 2011 to 8.5% in 2023, according to an April 9 CDC brief. Shigellosis is a diarrheal illness caused by bacteria that is spread through fecal-oral transmission and sexual contact. Antibiotics are indicated for severe illness or to reduce high-risk for spread, though most cases are self-limited. Currently, there are no FDA-approved oral treatments available. (Taylor, 4/14)